The Crown of Gilded Bones (Blood and..

Chapter 18
My stomach tumbled as I stared at Kieran. “But then
how can I…?” I trailed off. “None of this makes sense,
Kieran. I get that I carry the blood of Nyktos in me, and even
Malec’s if what Alastir said is true, but that doesn’t explain
how my abilities are so strong when as far as I can
remember, neither of my parents had these gifts. Neither
did Ian. And, yes, I know he might not be my full-blooded
brother,” I said before he could remind me of that fact. “But
if I am the descendant of Malec and one of his mistresses,
that had to be several generations ago. How did I end up
with so much eather?”
“Good question,” he said after a moment. “Perhaps your
ability to communicate with us like Nyktos did with the kiyou
is because you were Ascended. All your mortal blood was
replaced with Atlantian. That could’ve…I don’t know,
unlocked something in you.”
“Like I’m a door?”
A wry grin formed. “A better analogy would be a chest
unlocking inside you, but even before Casteel Ascended
you, your gifts were far stronger than they should be, so—”
Kieran’s head snapped around to the lattice doors, his eyes
narrowing on the darkness beyond it.
I set the pillow aside. “What is it?”
“I don’t know. I thought I heard something.” He rose, his
attention focused on the closed doors as he reached inside
his boot and pulled out a narrow, long-bladed dagger. “Stay
here.”